davy@RIACS.EDU (05/23/89)
Since there have been several requests from time to time for introductory material on how to use X11, I have placed a copy of the document we use here out on expo.lcs.mit.edu. It will also be posted to comp.sources.x in the next few days. The file is called "x11-intro-doc.tar.Z", and is in the "contrib" directory on expo. The document is entitled "Introductory Guide to Using X11 in the RIACS Generic Environment". To quote the abstract: The RIACS Generic Environment is a standard work environment being designed to make it easier for the researchers and support personnel at RIACS to get their jobs done. Part of this environment is made up of the X Window System, Version 11 Release 3 (X11), running on Sun workstations and Visual XDS-640 and Network Computing Devices NCD-16 X display stations. Each user at RIACS, when his or her account is created, is supplied with a set of generic start-up files: .cshrc, .login, .twmrc, .xrdb, and .xsession. This document describes the basics of using the X11 environment provided by these start-up files. Included in the distribution are: 1. An Imakefile which will allow you to build the document and print everything out. The "pic" and "tbl" preprocessors, and the "troff" text formatter with the "-ms" macro package are required. You will also need to have a PostScript printer to print out the figures. 2. An "Imake.rules" file which contains macros for formatting documents. You may find this useful for constructing documents of your own. 3. The complete "troff" source to the document. There are sections on logging in to X through xdm, using xterm scrollbars, using xterm selections, using the tek window, using the "twm" window manager, customizing your login session, customizing your resource database, and customizing "twm". 4. The complete PostScript source to the figures used in the document. There are 17 figures which are done as screen dumps of an actual workstation screen to demonstrate various points. These figures were generated by: % screendump > file.sd % pbmtoxwd file.sd > file.xwd % xpr -device ps file.xwd > file.ps and then editing the PostScript to change the scaling of the figure to fit into the document properly. The PostScript produced by "xpr" should work on most PostScript printers; it has been printed here on an Apple LaserWriter Plus and a QMS-PS2400 with no problems. 5. A copy of the startup files .cshrc, .login, .twmrc, .xrdb, and .xsession which we give to each new user when they get an account. These files produce the "RIACS Generic Environment", which is what the paper describes. With only minor editing, they can easily be used at your site also. 6. A copy of the configuration files we use with the X DIsplay Manager, "xdm". These files work with Sun workstations, Visual XDS-640 X terminals, and Network Computing Devices NCD-16 X terminals. Enjoy, Dave Curry Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science Mail Stop 230-5 NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA 94035 davy@riacs.edu